Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: We need accurate and swift implementation of the agreement (Koha)
• Dialogue continues: Bislimi, Lajcak and Petkovic to meet in Brussels on April 4 (RTK) 
• Osmani: Democracy is more than a mere system of governance (media)
• OSCE: SL decision regrettable, communities should take part in elections (Express)
• Elections in north, fear of tensions and low turnout (Lajmi)
• Konjufca meets Torres; discuss close cooperation between Kosovo and U.S. (media)
• Arifi: Agreement avoided legitimate requests of Albanians from the Valley (Indeksonline)

Serbian Language Media:

• Petkovic: In Brussels on concrete steps to implement the agreement from Ohrid (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo online)
• Skopje: Meeting of Chambers of Commerce of Serbia and Kosovo on removing obstacles in economic cooperation (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• Rakic met UNMIK head: Necessary to form the CSM ( ZSO) as soon as possible, withdraw special units from the north and stop political arrests (Radio Mitrovica sever)
• The former police officer arrested at Jarinje released from custody (RTS)
• Former Serb Kosovo police officer arrested at Jarinje checkpoint (N1, KoSSev, FoNet, Kosovo Online)
• Hill in Presevo: It was not easy for Albin Kurti or Aleksandar Vucic, but I feel progress (FoNet, Danas)
• Does the Serbian List violate the Agreement on Normalization if it does not participate in the Kosovo elections and are new barricades possible? (Danas)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Kurti: We need accurate and swift implementation of the agreement (Koha)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said today that chief negotiators from Kosovo and Serbia who will meet in Brussels on April 4, will discuss issues of the implementation of the agreement. “There is an agreement, the agreement exists, and it is very clear and public for all. We need an accurate and swift implementation of the agreement. This is why a meeting at the level of chief negotiators is being organised,” he told reporters today.

Asked about statements, including the one from EU High Representative Josep Borrell that the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities is an urgent matter, Kurti said that the agreement is clear and must be implemented in its entirety. “The agreement must be implemented in its entirety. The same way there can be no unilateral signing of the agreement and the annex, there can be no unilateral implementation. The agreement must not be divided and take only the preferred parts. The word you mentioned urgent matter, is exactly in the sentence that talks about the missing, the forcibly disappeared. Read the text. Political statements from whoever are there to serve the process. But now we have an agreement, and we don’t have to put any statement or public or political remark by someone above the text of the basic agreement or the implementation annex,” he argued.

Dialogue continues: Bislimi, Lajcak and Petkovic to meet in Brussels on April 4 (RTK) 

Kosovo and Serbia will continue talks in Brussels on April 4, this time with a meeting between chief negotiators, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi and Serbian Government Office for Kosovo’s chief Petar Petkovic. The meeting is expected to focus on the next steps in the implementation of the agreement on normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia. This will be the first meeting after the high-level meeting between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Alekandar Vucic in Ohrid.

Osmani: Democracy is more than a mere system of governance (media)

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said in her address at the Summit for Democracy 2023 that “democracy is more than a mere system of governance. For the Republic of Kosovo, it was our strong desire for democracy that secured our path to freedom and independence. And by strengthening it today, democracy will pave our way for a brighter future within Euro-Atlantic institutions.”

Osmani said that “at its very heart, democracy is fundamentally about having the right to choose your path, your future, and your destiny. The people of Kosovo have chosen their path.”

“This Year’s Summit for Democracy has certainly been our Year of Action! With full force and fervor we have worked to implement the commitments we set out last year.”

“But the Year of Action, has also been a year of substantial global challenges, with indiscriminate and flagrant violations of human rights happening across the world as we gather here today.”

Read full statement at: https://bit.ly/3G029H0 OSCE: SL decision regrettable, communities should take part in elections (Express)

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo did not say in a statement for the news website whether it will monitor the April 23 elections in the north of Kosovo but said that the protection of communities is a high priority for them. “Communities have the responsibility to take part in democratic processes,” they said.

The OSCE said that the decision of the Serbian List not to take part in the elections is regrettable because it will limit the free choice of voters.

“The protection of rights of all communities is a high priority, especially for the OSCE, while the communities also have the responsibility to engage in institutions and to take part in democratic processes. Participation in elections for mayors and municipal assemblies is crucial for improving local governance and creating conditions for all communities to prosper,” the response notes.

“The local elections scheduled for April 23 must be held by the Central Election Commission in line with set practices and procedures. It is crucial for them to be held in peaceful and regular fashion”.

Elections in north, fear of tensions and low turnout (Lajmi)

The holding of elections in the four northern municipalities on April 23 has caused fear of new tensions, despite the readiness of Kosovo’s institutions to provide a peaceful and incident-free election process. The non-participation of the Serbian List in the elections is seen as a possibility for parallel structures in the north to obstruct the election process and to pressure people not to take part in the process.

Regardless of a possible dispute of the process, the government and opposition believe the elections must be held especially after the support from the Quint countries. However, monitors of elections have expressed concerns that local Serbs could obstruct the organisation of elections in voting centres. Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has not said if there are any technical problems with organising elections in the north and when their teams will go out on the field to prepare the voting centres.

MP from the Vetevendosje Movement, Arbereshe Kryeziu-Hyseni, said all relevant institutions are ready to organise the elections. “The statement from the Quint countries supporting the elections is also very important … It confirms the fact that it is very important to hold these elections and that we were not wrong when we announced them earlier, or when we postponed them, or when we set the new date, April 23. This shows that the Quint countries have supported the government’s decisions and actions for the election process in the northern municipalities,” she said.

MP from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Xhavit Haliti, said that elections in the north must be held on April 23, but also added that there could be new tensions there. “It is difficult to say if the elections can be held without the Serbian List. Elections were held there even when there was no Serbian List … Now if the majority of the parties in the north have agreed to hold the elections, and the government and the CEC and all relevant institutions agree that the elections can be held. It will also depend on the voter turnout, because I believe the people there will be under great pressure from Serbia, the Serbian List, and also from groups that operate violently in the north against their own citizens, they can create chaos and unnecessary events,” he said.

Eugen Cakolli from the Kosovo Democratic Institute said that the non-participation of the Serbian List will damage the election process in several aspects. He mentioned the impact of the Serbian List to have a low turnout and argued that there could also be attempts to obstruct the election process but not at the level of December last year.

Konjufca meets Torres; discuss close cooperation between Kosovo and U.S. (media)

Kosovo Assembly President, Glauk Konjufca, met during his stay in the U.S., with Congressman Ritchie Torres and discussed “close cooperation between Kosovo and the U.S., political developments in our country and the American support for the Euro-Atlantic processes of the Republic of Kosovo”.

“As Mr. Torres said, the U.S. has no better friend than Kosovo and Kosovo cannot have a better friend in the world than the U.S. I am deeply grateful to Congressman Torres for his continuous support to the Republic of Kosovo and his commitment to strengthen the friendship and further the bilateral ties with the United States of America,” Konjufca wrote on Facebook.

Arifi: Agreement avoided legitimate requests of Albanians from the Valley (Indeksonline)

Mayor of Bujanovac municipality, Nagip Arifi, commented on the Ohrid agreement between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. “Any agreement aimed at political stability between the two countries is welcome. The Ohrid agreement as a continuation of the Brussels agreement, I cannot say that it is perfect, because the agreement leaves many issues unresolved. One of them is that it avoided the legitimate requests of Albanians in Presevo Valley to include the principle of reciprocity between Serbs in Kosovo and Albanians in Serbia,” he said.

Arifi also said that Article 1 of the Ohrid agreement is important for Albanians living in the Valley. “From all the points, for Albanians in the Valley particularly important is for Article 1 to be implemented as soon as possible, which among other issues recognises the documents, such as passports, ID cards, diplomas, licence plates, and so on. The implementation of this point would increase the likelihood of graduates from the Republic of Kosovo to find employment, a problem that we have raised in almost every meeting,” he said.

     

Serbian Language Media 

  Petkovic: In Brussels on concrete steps to implement the agreement from Ohrid (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo online)

The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina continues on April 4. Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, told Radio Beograd 1 that concrete steps for implementing the Ohrid agreement will be discussed, reported Radio Mitrovica sever.

He said that it was a matter of continuing the dialogue at the technical level and that concrete steps will be taken to implement the agreement from Ohrid, with clearly marked red lines - that Belgrade will never agree to ''the so-called Kosovo becoming a member of the UN and that Belgrade neither de facto or de jure will recognize the so-called Kosovo''.

Petkovic said that in the text of the Annex, one of the first obligations to be fulfilled is the obligation of Pristina to form the Community of Serbian Municipalities, and that, he says, as clearly stated, is in accordance with the relevant previous agreements from the dialogue in which its essential competences are clearly defined.

He also said that it was known exactly what was agreed in Brussels. The essential competences of the CSM (ZSO), its goals, bodies, and how the Community will function are clearly defined, including point 16, which stipulates that Belgrade finances the CSM.

It will be seen who adheres to the dialogue

Petar Petkovic, commenting messages from Pristina that the agreement does not foresee autonomy for Serbs and that the CSM was not mentioned in the Ohrid agreement, said that, after the meeting in Ohrid, Pristina was under siege, while President Aleksandar Vucic was very careful when said that we hope to go in the direction of normalizing relations.

"Considering that Pristina has refused to form the CSM for ten years, it shows with its latest statements that it is not ready to go in that direction. But that is now a matter for Pristina and the international representatives and mediators in the dialogue who are obliged to make Pristina fulfill its obligation. Then it will be absolutely clear who sticks to dialogue and who does not really want dialogue. Belgrade has always been committed to dialogue, and that is why we are going to talk this time as well. Only dialogue can ensure the normalization of relations, because we very much need to cooperate, to have freedom of movement and for the people who live in Kosovo and Metohija to have a normal life, especially the Serbs who are oppressed and who daily survive various attacks and institutional violence by Albin Kurti and Pristina," said Petkovic.

About Ivan Todosijevic

The call to Ivan Todosijevic to report to prison on April 3, the day before the continuation of the dialogue in Brussels, Petkovic saw as an image and opportunity for the so-called rule of law in Pristina.

"It is not the first time that Pristina has resorted to such unilateral moves before going to Brussels because it wants to further complicate the conversation in this way. They do it because they don't care about dialogue. In the case of Ivan Todosijevic, everything is absolutely clear because it is a violation of the Brussels Agreement, especially Point 10, where it is clearly stated that the appellate panels must be majority Serbian for those cases that come from Serbian communities," said Petkovic.

In the case of Ivan Todosijevic, but also in all other cases, Albanians always decided, that is, three judges of Albanian nationality, and it should be the opposite - two judges of Serbian nationality and one judge of Albanian nationality, notes the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

"But that is not happening because Albin Kurti wants to take additional revenge on Ivan Todosijevic and all Serbs who think freely. And that's why he sentences him to a year in prison - because of the spoken word. This opens the door to verbal delict in the area of Kosovo and Metohija. When we talk about their judiciary, just ask yourself what it means when Pristina acquits Azem Kurtaj, who shot Serbian children who were holding a Christmas tree on Christmas Day in Gotovusa. That man was released, he was put under house arrest, and on the other hand, because of the words he said about what was happening in Racak, Ivan Todosijevic was sentenced to one year in prison," Petkovic pointed out.

Skopje: Meeting of Chambers of Commerce of Serbia and Kosovo on removing obstacles in economic cooperation (Radio Mitrovica sever, KiM radio)

The first meeting of the teams of the chambers of commerce of Serbia and Kosovo on overcoming administrative barriers in economic cooperation will be held on Thursday, March 30, in Skopje, announced the Chamber of Commerce of North Macedonia (PKSM), reported Radio Mitrovica sever.

That meeting will, according to the announcement, "take place in the established dynamics" in order to resolve as quickly as possible all disputed issues related to the administrative barriers that hinder economic cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo.

In the negotiation process for overcoming administrative barriers in the economic cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo, advisers to the president of PKSM Branko Azeski will mediate: Elena Milevska Strbevska and Jadranka Arizankovska.

In the announcement, PKSM stated that the reconciliation of disputed issues in the trade cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo is "an extremely important economic, but also political issue, because it can lead to the normalization of relations between these two countries, as a new step forward in relations that have been strained for decades."

It is emphasized that there are already signed agreements that should provide the basis and instruments for significant improvement of competitiveness, economic cohesion, and connectivity of the entire Western Balkans.

In order to eliminate all the shortcomings that occur in trade, it is added, "now is the right time to take wise steps in the direction of intensifying regional integration and trade cooperation, which will ensure the economic prosperity of both countries, but also of the Western Balkans as a whole."

"That's why, to begin with, it is necessary to remove all administrative barriers and create conditions for the improvement of economic cooperation if we want foreign partners and international institutions to see the region as a prosperous future political and economic partner," emphasized PKSM.

Rakic met UNMIK head: Necessary to form the CSM ( ZSO) as soon as possible, withdraw special units from the north and stop political arrests (Radio Mitrovica sever, Kosovo Online)

The president of the Serbian List, Goran Rakic, met today with the special representative of the UN Secretary General in Kosovo and the head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh. 

As announced on the official Facebook page of Goran Rakic, the meeting discussed the formation of the CSM (ZSO) and stability in this area.

"It is necessary to form the Community of Serbian Municipalities as soon as possible, withdraw special units from the north and stop political persecutions and arrests, in order to enable the peaceful life of Serbs in these areas and to preserve stability and survival," said the president of the Serbian List, Goran Rakic, at the meeting with the special representative of the Secretary General and the head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh, reported Radio Mitrovica sever, citing the statement.

The former police officer arrested at Jarinje released from custody (RTS)

Former police officer Miljan Jovanovic, who was arrested yesterday, has been released from custody, his lawyer Dejan Vasic confirmed. 

He added that the police confused him because of his similar name to Milan Jovanovic, who is on the wanted list, reported RTS.

Former Serb Kosovo police officer arrested at Jarinje checkpoint (N1, KoSSev, FoNet, Kosovo Online)

A former Kosovo police officer (M.J.), member of the Serb community in Kosovo, was arrested at the Jarinje administrative border crossing between Serbia proper and Kosovo while returning with his wife and two children from Raska, Serbia, to Leposavic in Kosovo, FoNet reported yesterday.

The Kosovo Police confirmed this information for the KoSSev portal, saying that M.J. was arrested on the basis of an indictment issued by the Basic Court in Pristina and that he is suspected of involvement “in the commission of several criminal acts: organized crime, accepting bribes and abuse of authority.”

“All further activities and procedures will be carried out in cooperation and coordination with the judicial bodies,” said the Kosovo Police, failing to release any information on his whereabouts.

A number of media reported on the arrest of the former Serb Kosovo police officer even before the Kosovo Police issued a statement, N1 reported.

His wife, who did not want her name mentioned, told Kosovo Online that when leaving Kosovo via the Jarinje administrative crossing they were told that their documents were not in order, yet they were allowed to continue their journey.

She said that, when returning to Kosovo, they were first held back at the Jarinje checkpoint for an hour and a half, allegedly because of the procedure and a mistake that needed to be corrected.

The wife, who had to wait in the car with their two children, saw at one point that Kosovo police officers carrying rifles were handcuffing her husband and driving off with him in the direction of North Mitrovica.

M.J. quit the service last year, along with all other Serb Kosovo police officers in northern Kosovo.

Office for KiM: Continuation of pressure

The arrest of a former Serb Kosovo police officer at Jarinje “is a continuation of pressure and of the persecution of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, especially of the police officers who last year took off the Kosovo Police uniforms,” said the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

It said that Miljan J. was arrested “in front of his wife and two underage children.”

The Office said it has already engaged an attorney to defend the arrested former Serb Kosovo police officer and contacted his family offering support and assistance.

It added that this was “a staged, political arrest,” which has to do with “Pristina’s intention to deal with the Serbs it cannot force to rejoin the Kosovo Police.”

Hill in Presevo: It was not easy for Albin Kurti or Aleksandar Vucic, but I feel progress (FoNet, Danas)

It was not easy for the Government, nor for Albin Kurti, nor for Aleksandar Vucic, because decisions and things are difficult to think about while trying to make an agreement, but I feel progress, said American Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill in Presevo yesterday, reported Danas daily. 

He added that, in his opinion, one of the most important elements of all this is the fact that Pristina should establish the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

Of course, there are other things that Kosovo needs to do, but I think that all this leads to a better situation with the European Union, and this can actually be seen as an agreement between Pristina and Brussels, said Hill and added that "the same can be said for the Serbian side".

I think that Vucic wants to normalize relations with Kosovo, as well as the relations between Belgrade and Brussels, added Hill, who believes that the representatives of Brussels have "a lot of credit" for this agreement.

The question is what the best way for progress is. Do people want to complain about problems that have not been solved, or do they want to see the possibilities of solutions in the future. I think a lot of people are worried about how this is going to end, but instead of worrying, why not support the people who made these tough decisions, Hill said.

He pointed out that the USA 100 percent supports what the European Union wants to do.

We have very capable diplomats, but I want you to know that we are not participants, nor part of the agreement between Serbia, Kosovo, and the European Union, but we are part of this process and will be very involved, and it is clear that everything that has been agreed must be implemented, Hill said.

He added that many countries have problems with which they have to fight and that he expects the same from Serbia.

I think the Serbs are clearly showing the direction they want to go. If it was towards Russia, I'm not sure they would get on the good side, Hill pointed out.

He said that his visit to Presevo is important and expressed his willingness to help solve the problems he heard about in Presevo and Bujanovac.

I will return to Belgrade and let me think and see what I can do to be useful. It's very important that people understand what the issues are, and I think I've been clear about that, Hill said, reported Danas.

Does the Serbian List violate the Agreement on Normalization if it does not participate in the Kosovo elections and are new barricades possible? (Danas)

The fact that the Serbian List will not participate in the elections in the north of Kosovo on April 23 is not a violation of the Agreement on the path to the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, according to Dusan Janjic, founder of the Forum for Ethnic Relations, reported daily Danas.

The Serbian List did not apply to participate in the elections in four municipalities in the north. The members of the EP, the rapporteur for Kosovo Viola von Cramon and the Dutch MEP Thijs Reuten, consider it a violation of the recently reached agreement in Brussels and Ohrid.

Janjic points out that this is the response of the Serbian List and Belgrade to the fact that the condition for the return of Serbs to the institutions has not been met.

- In addition, there was no agreement on that, and the elections were scheduled by the decision of the Government of Kosovo, so unilaterally. There were two things in the conflict management package. Not only the abolition of the barricades, but also the return of SL, but also the part, which no one talks about, the establishment of security, which implies the return of Serbian representatives to the judiciary, customs, police, and other authorities. So far, there is no evidence that there was any discussion about it. A reasonable explanation is that there is a difference of opinion between America and other EU members, primarily Germany and France, on this matter. As far as I know, they encouraged Kurti to behave unilaterally in that challenging situation. They interpreted the exit of the Serbs from the institutions as a chance to show that the Kosovo state functions according to the laws as if nothing had happened. But it happened. And that's where we have a problem - says Janjic.

According to him, to move from conflict management to normalization, the issue of the institutional-security vacuum had to be resolved.

- SL and Belgrade were seeking the CSM (ZSO) and they caught them, to put it in sports language, in a gap. They were looking for the impossible. Some things have been done about the CSM, but it can be said that the SL has been tricked - Janjic told Danas daily. 

Reconstruction of barricades

Janjic added that that if now SL, which is tied to the government in Belgrade, goes to the elections, it will be the collapse of Vucic on the internal plan and a flywheel for the opposition that is against the agreement.

- If these elections are held, it is realistic to expect the reconstruction of the barricades - said Janjic.

Asked whether the arguments are valid of the diplomatic representatives in Pristina, who ask how the CSM should be formed when the SL will not participate in the elections, Janjic replied that this confirms his words that they are behind Kurti's single-minded moves and that they only make the situation more difficult.

- Their thesis is not correct because according to the Ohrid Agreement, the statute of the CSM should be adopted within 30 days. The agreement will come into force only when it is verified what was done by political decision but not by the administration's move, so that the Ohrid Agreement becomes part of Chapter 35. We do not count those 30 days for the start of drafting the statute yet - explains Janjic.

The irresponsibility of Germany and France

As he adds, the phase of conflict management means that measures will be taken to prevent conflicts, remove barricades and return the Serbian community to the institutions, and then move on to dialogue. He indicates that we have made faster progress in returning to dialogue than in conflict management.

- The most concerning is the irresponsibility of France and Germany and playing with security. It's as if they forgot their own claims that armed citizens and paramilitaries including Wagner and the Patriots were present in the north. Where are those claims now? If they are no longer there, it is enough that there is a large number of Kosovo police forces in the north, which normally had to be increased by the number of Albanians because there are no Serbs. It is a dangerous game with security, in which terms are only misused. The behavior of France and Germany is very irresponsible and that they objectively want to drag out the crisis and undermine the desire of the American administration to have some visible success by May - Janjic told Danas.

To all this, Vucic responded directly, according to Janjic, to the provocations of the Germans, the French and Kurti, shooting directly into forehead France and Germany informing the public, after a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, that the Americans are building a new security network.

- Gentlemen from Germany and France, are you really against the Russian presence in the Balkans? Should we talk about Russian influence until April, so we'll see what we do in April. But then it might be too late because Russia will be knocking on Bucharest's door through maneuvers with Belarus. And Berlin is close. In this pragmatism of European politics, trivial things are lost, and they are satisfied that no one shoots in the north but undermines Belgrade - he points out.

Quinta has to make an announcement before April 23

Asked what will happen by April 23, he answers that it is reasonable for America to take the initiative and confront the gentlemen with what he said and what is evident, and to agree on the date of the elections.

- They have to come out before the 23rd with a clear statement from Quint that an agreement has been reached on filling the security and institutional vacuum, that Belgrade has agreed that the Serbs will return to the institutions through the elections, so let it be on the 23rd, but then they have to postpone the application deadlines. The second thing that must happen is to start disarming and to start returning to the institutions, which also means reducing the presence of special forces of the Kosovo police in the north - he stated.

However, he also says that for the American lobbies, it is not enough that Vucic agreed to this agreement, but that the main goal is to integrate Kosovo forcefully and quickly into NATO and complete Serbia.

He points out that the security situation is very serious and that the political scene in both Kosovo and Serbia is fragile, and that, as he said, ‘’I can responsibly predict that if these elements are not respected, barricades in the north can be expected. Maybe they want the elections not to take place and blame Serbia for that, but that has nothing to do with the Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations’’, reported daily Danas.